Need help to stain furniture. Don't want to paint but want a slight solid look, should the wood be primed?

A solid wood stain covers like paint, but goes on thin like stain. If you finally decide to use a semi-transparent stain, use sanding sealer first. Apply it with a brush, after sanding the dresser. Let it dry and then slightly sand it. Then apply your stain. Applying stain with a brush gives the most color. If you want less color apply with a cloth and keep wiping until you get your degree of shade (color).However, I don't believe you can put a solid stain on with a cloth; must use a brush.

DON'T prime it. Get an opaque stain. Maple is a very hard wood and doesn't except stain easily you may need to apply several coats and let them sit to get the effect you are looking for.

I would use a solid or semi-solid stain. They are avalible at most home center. They are ususally sold as exterior stains for decks and fences but they will do just fine inside. They are also tintable to any color you want.

all stains are going to be transparent enough to see the wood grain. That is what they do, accentuate the positive. If you get an oil penetrating stain and not a minwax type of garbage, you can stain over and over the wood and make it so dark that you can hardly see the grain. There is another method that will work if you are ready for it and have a steady hand. get yourself a paint that is the same base color as the maple, called a buff coat. I would recommend an oil based for this. The on top of that put a paint the color that you want - that is the way that much furniture is made to look older than it is. However I think you are as dumb as a box of rocks to paint antique furniture. After 50 years in the business of repairing and refinishing furniture, I will never again work on painted furniture - it is basically ruined. You are far better off in retailing the value of the furniture to refinish it as it was. They don't make furniture like that any more and if you want to screw around with new junk furniture, that is OK, but things that fall within the antique category, you run the risk of losing all value. The style of the Yuppies is "shabby chic," and that is a process of destroying old furniture, not restoring it. You speak of wood grain on Maple,there is not much. Are you sure that it is maple.

Use a espresso tint stain heavily, let set for the time recommended on the package, then wipe off excess and allow to dry. Repeat until desired darkness occurs. I built a 'modern' platform bed and used only 2 coats using this method (on pine) and there are small fluctuations in the color because of pine's natural fluctuation but you cannot discern the small common grain running through the wood. There is really no limit to the # of coats to use, but after 4 the difference will be minuscule. Also I did use the pre-stain pre-treating (wood conditioner?) liquid recommended for a more even coat. This would in effect be the primer. In my tests, it really did allow the stain to penetrate more evenly and deeper, I was worried it was a waste of money.

You can purchase 'solid color stains' from most paint stores or big box places. If you apply it and let it dry it will be more of a solid color OR you can apply and let it on for a short time and then wipe some of the color off to let the wood grains show.

if you have the time and patience and it requires both, put on a clear or light tinted oil based stain by hand, rubbing the finish with 0000 steel wool between coats until the deepness of sheen is what you need. It will usually take a minimum of ten to twenty coats of oil to do the job. Nothing will beat or Even touch a hand rubbed oil finish for durability and lashing sheen. We have gun stocks that were done more than 30 years past and they still retain the shine.

You will need a polyurethane and stain combo. It is available at Lowes is several colors and it will cover grain nicely.

tr useing B I N primer ( red &white can) home depot) you will need a can of denatured alcohol for clean up.